Glasgow’s West End

Time required – Approximately 1.5 hour’s walking time plus however long you wish spend at the numerous attractions

The west end of Glasgow was my happy hunting ground in my years as a student at Glasgow University. It is also a fantastic urban adventure for the children as there’s loads to do. We’ve carried out a number of incursions into the West End and on our most recent mission we identified three key objectives.

The Botanic Gardens is your first port of call so find a parking space close by. If you are in a metered zone make sure you buy a parking ticket. The parking attendants do not mess about here. The gardens are open all year round (free entry) and there are 19.6 hectares to wander around in. These gardens extend to the river Kelvin walkway. The Glasshouse (Kibble Palace) and Tearooms are also worth a visit and are open during the day.

From the Botanic Gardens head along Byres Road. Take a left at Dumbarton Road. By all means stop for lunch at one of the cafes along the route. After about 300 metres you will see the magnificent Kelvingrove Art Gallery on the left hand side. When you enter, despite what may appear to be the case the Kelvingrove Art Gallery is in fact not a crèche with loads of things to climb onto, but a museum which is free to visit and show-cases numerous invaluable works of art. Make sure you scare the children by visiting the dinosaurs.

The final objective is Kelvingrove Park which is right beside the Kelvingrove Art Gallery. It’s a great park with extensive grounds and for the children there is a skatepark and a playpark beside each other. I could now reminisce about the original skatepark which had been filled in during the 1980s and has made up some of my fondest childhood memories, but that would be self-indulgent. Anyway, when you’re done, walk along Kelvin Way and take a left at Universtiy Avenue which leads you back to Byres Road.